By Phil Kitromilides

Our man in Madrid believes backing Los Blancos' newest star to fire less than 16 La Liga goals in his debut season provides punters with a chance to make some solid profit

After a long and arduous summer, Gareth Bale is finally a Real Madrid player and the Welshman will be desperate to take to the pitch wearing the iconic white shirt of Spain's most successful club.

It may happen this weekend at Villarreal although given his lack of fitness it is unlikely, and the Welshman is going to have to work hard to get fully fit after a summer without proper training.

Having missed three league games already it is likely to be a few more before Bale is starting in the Real Madrid team, and this is an important factor when considering how many goals he may score. Bet365 offer odds of evens (2.00) that he will score over 15.5 goals and 8/11 (1.73) that he will net under that total.

Not only is the forward likely to miss a few matches before he is fully back to his best, but he also has to contend with the fact that there are plenty of goal scorers in the side.

Cristiano Ronaldo's record is nothing short of brutal, while Karim Benzema and Isco have both begun the season is fine scoring form.

Furthermore it is worth noting that until last season, Bale was not really renowned for his scoring ability, with his previous highest season tally (prior to the last campaign) being 10 league goals.

Big money has been spent on Bale and the fans will expect a return, but if punters want a return, then backing him to net under 15.5 goals at 8/11 (1.73) looks to be the best move.